Rehabilitated bald eagle released by UC Davis

An adult bald eagle brought to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine will be released back into the wild near Redding today.

The eagle will be released by Bret Stedman, manager of the California Raptor Center, at 11 a.m. near the city's Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay Exploration Park. Stedman will put on leather gloves, remove the eagle from its enclosure and hold it before tossing it into the air for release.

The formerly injured bald eagle was found by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife by the side of the road on April 9 outside of Red Bluff, roughly two hours north of Woodland. It had fractures in its left claw and its left shoulder.

The eagle underwent extensive treatment at UCD's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, after it was referred by a local veterinarian, and rehabilitation through the university's California Raptor Center.

"To treat the eagle, UCD veterinarians worked with Cook Medical, which donated a device known as Small Intestinal Submucosa Extracellular Matrix that was used to heal the eagle's flesh wounds that accompanied its fractures," said UCD's Rob Warren in a statement.

The California Raptor Center at UC Davis is an educational and research facility dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned birds of prey. The center takes in more than 200 sick injured, and orphaned raptors each year, successfully returning about 60 percent to the wild.

The center also provides hands-on training in the care and management of birds of prey to those interested in rehabilitation, and offers educational programs to schools, ecological and environmental organizations and the university community.